Baby Grand Piano Mod for D.J.s with style

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 23rd April 2007
Comments (9) Stumble
Baby Grand Piano Mod for D.J.s with style

The Baby Grand Piano by Gardner Post is the ultimate audio / video setup with a dollop of panache

Music and modding - not normally a natural pairing. Of course, there is the world famous Real Wood iPod created by ZapWizard but generally the two artistic disciplines don't often cross paths.

Today's mod is an impressive fusion of the two unlike anything we have seen before. Modestly titled Baby Grand Master, The King of Video Intruments the project is the latest creation from artist Gardner Post.

Built inside the body of a Baby Grand Master piano, this system is aimed at true connoisseurs of multimedia. The piano case houses two Pioneer DVJ-X1 DVD players, three Marshall LCD monitors and an Edirol V-4 video mxer in place of normal piano keys. For sound control the system is built around an Allen and Heath Xone 92 audio mixer.

For speakers the piano uses four subwoofers - two 15 inchers, one 18 inch beast and a 12 inch to cap it off - as well as a set of three bullet tweeters and a AB 1,100 watt amp thats so powerful it would be best used for demolition purposes.

The piano can then be further pimped out in true gangsta fashion with hydraulic legs and top, custom paint jobs and fog or laser spewers. This puts it far out of the price range of us normal folk, obviously.

It may not be a working PC - often the criteria for attracting most modders' attention - but given the extensive modification and raw hardware contained within, we felt it was worthy of a mention.

Have you tried out any musical mods of your own, or perhaps you're contemplating a Pocket PC / harmonica hybrid? Post your ideas in our forum.
Quote Jamie 23rd April 2007, 12:14
That's pretty sweet. Would be interesting to see someone mixing on it.
Quote mikeuk2004 23rd April 2007, 13:23
In regards to the Real Wood Ipod. I had seen on Cnet that a laptop made completly out of wood is to hit the shelves late 2007.

As for the piano. Cool mod.
Quote _DTM2000_ 23rd April 2007, 17:22
Four subs in three sizes and 3 tweeters, thats gonna sound pants then. The bass is going to have loads of phasing problems, the bullet tweeters will no doubt sound really harsh and to cap it off there's no mid-range. I know this isn't exactly meant to be "hi-fi" but there's an obvious lack of knowledge in the design. It does look pretty sweet though, and it's a good idea. Shame about the speaker choices.
Quote Tyinsar 23rd April 2007, 17:55
While this looks cool, a piano, especially an iPod white one. is not exactly an instrument I associate with rap.

Or I should say: It looked cool until I got the image of Elton John trying to use it to make a rap tune stuck in my head :( :'(
Quote antiHero 23rd April 2007, 20:51
Looks awesome, but it would be much better with turntables and Final scratch then with Cd players. Real DJ`s use vinyl!!!
Quote wafflesomd 23rd April 2007, 21:34
Quote:
Originally Posted by _DTM2000_
Four subs in three sizes and 3 tweeters, thats gonna sound pants then. The bass is going to have loads of phasing problems, the bullet tweeters will no doubt sound really harsh and to cap it off there's no mid-range. I know this isn't exactly meant to be "hi-fi" but there's an obvious lack of knowledge in the design. It does look pretty sweet though, and it's a good idea. Shame about the speaker choices.


Not trure.

Subs may have individual enclosures.

And those tweeters can easily handle the midranges.
Quote thecrownles 24th April 2007, 05:17
Would be cooler if it still had keys and could be played that way too. Would be even cooler if the keys could be made to play tracks from songs (like some of the auto-play piano thingers, except electronically actuated)
Quote perplekks45 24th April 2007, 07:41
What I think is most impressive is the Concert Grand Master. :D
http://www.babygrandmaster.com/images/ConcertGrandMasterSmall.jpg
Quote _DTM2000_ 24th April 2007, 17:51
Quote:
Originally Posted by wafflesomd
Not trure.

Subs may have individual enclosures.

And those tweeters can easily handle the midranges.

I realise that subs can have individual enclosures but that makes no difference to the fact that the different sizes of subs are going to be playing the same frequencies. As different sizes/models of subs/speakers have different frequency responses, they are all going to reproduce tones slightly differently. Added to this the fact that the way speakers are positioned in relation to each other has a big effect on the way they sound when played together.

The most difficult thing to do when designing speaker installations is getting the speakers the right distance apart and at the right angles to get maximum frequency response and minimum phase cancellation etc. If you get it wrong it sounds muddled and unrealistic.

As for tweeters playing mid-range. They may play it if you use a low crossover point but it's never going to sound as good as using proper mid-range driver.

I probably didn't explain that very well but I'm in a rush. :)
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